Matter Poetics, Melange and the Lichenised Posthuman

Harriet Fidkin Journal article Destination – e-flux Matter Poetics, Melange and the Lichenised Posthuman - How Artists and Writers Present Visions of an Interconnected Life Between Man and Non-Human Others in the Age of the Anthropocene. A microscopic being changing the socioeconomic structure of societies worldwide is forcing us to confront our porosity. Covid-19 permeating and altering the bodies of so many begs the question – have we ever been individuals? Matter Poetics, Melange and the Lichenised Posthuman interrogates the ways in which our entangled existence is presented within science fiction media, using Frank Herbert’s seminal work Dune (1965) and the fictional mind-altering drug Melange to frame a discursive speculation surrounding the holobiotic existence of all Earthlings. Alternative theories surrounding symbiosis, taxonomy, mortality and consciousness expansion are sketched, calling for a reconsideration of what constitutes “the human” in such perilous times for the planet. The text examines literature, film, conceptual art and philosophical meditations. The mycelial practices of Jae Rhim Lee and Jordon Belson, the posthuman ideologies of Drew Milne, Donna Haraway and Lynn Margulis, and Alex Garland’s Annihilation (2018) are explored; thoughts and arguments, like matter, are scattered amorphously. Covid-19 restructuring the way we live our lives has made many more of us realise the fragility of the human condition. Science fiction is and always has been intertwined with our realities- can such speculations help us escape our dystopian reality by facilitating a re-evaluation of our inextricable connection to the natural world? (though inessential, a base level knowledge of herbert’s duniverse will help with the understanding of this text) duniverse – the fictional universe in which herbert’s dune is set Key words – Symbiosis, Dune, Mycelium, Anthropocene, Science-Fiction. “Nothing is independent, nor autonomous.” (Griffiths, 2015). Social distancing and isolation over the past nine months has led to many of us turning inwards, questioning the nature of our perceived reality and the autonomy of our own bodies. An invisible killer infiltrating our lungs and kickstarting the breakdown of seemingly stable structures in societies across the globe sounds like the stuff of a science fiction novel yet is currently the truth we live. Pre-Covid-19, my fascination with the concept of the self and our largely ignored intrinsic connection to non-human others was always going to be a topic of discussion within my practise. It was only when sat in my garden in the height of lockdown, halfway through Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965) that I became fascinated with the fictional drug Melange, and how its use within the novel can open important discussions surrounding the body and mind in the Anthropocene.1 In Green Planets, Canavan queries: “Does science fiction offer a predictive window into a world that is to come, or does it instead merely reflect assumptions, anxieties and cultural preoccupations of its immediate present?” (2014). In this speculative discussion, I seek to explore ways in which writers and artists interrogate the chimerical2 nature of existence on Earth, and the ways in which science fiction has always been ‘science fact’, telling us what we already know, but do not acknowledge. The first half of my discussion is spore-like; thoughts and theories surrounding symbiosis, the individual3 mortality and psychedelics float free- form, moving beyond a rhizomatic (Deleuze, Guattari, 1987) way of thinking, employing a more atomic approach. Due to this discursive style, it is worth noting that footnotes are just as relevant as the body text and are crucial to understanding this work – like the mote, although small, their importance should not be overlooked. 1. The spice Melange is the rarest and most important commodity in Herbert’s Duniverse. An “awareness spectrum narcotic”, it possesses powerful psychotropic abilities. Highly addictive, physical dependence on the substance leads to the eyes of the user staining blue. Prescience is awakened within dormant parts of the human brain, notably within the order of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood and Guild Navigators. 2. Biology: “An organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues, formed by processes such as fusion of early embryos, grafting, or mutation.” Mythology: “Any mythical animal formed from parts of various animals.” (Oxford, 2020). 3. It is worth noting that this article, although critiquing the use of taxonomic categories uses them within its structure regardless. At this stage of discussion surrounding symbiosis, we are not yet ready to totally abandon Darwinian taxonomy. The human brain craves categorisation; order. It is how we’ve been taught about the natural world since we were children. Change is always unnerving, even when necessary to progress. The second half retains a more traditional structure as my spores begin to settle. I use science fiction literature and film to interrogate the porous nature of the body, and anxieties surrounding this amidst the current climate, flowing into speculations on what understanding our symbiotic existence could mean in the age of the Anthropocene. If we are to survive the dystopian realities we find ourselves as characters in, seeking guidance from works of science fiction doesn’t seem so fantastical anymore. As Dune was my inspiration for this work, each section of the discussion starts with a quote, illustrating the ways in which the Duniverse and our lives on Earth intertwine. The notion of getting closer to nature is ridiculous. We already are nature. What must happen next is the acknowledgement of our pre-existing interconnectivity. Figure 1 “Whirling silence settled around Jessica. Every fibre of her body accepted the fact that something profound had happened to it. She felt that she was a conscious mote, smaller than any subatomic particle, yet capable of motion and sensing her surrounding.” Frank Herbert, Dune (1965). “We know nothing about a body until we know what it can do, in other words, what its affects are, how they can or cannot enter into composition with other affects, with the effects of another body, either to destroy that body or to be destroyed by it, either to exchange actions and passions with it or to join with it in composing a more powerful body.” Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus (1987). In A Thousand Plateaus, Deleuze and Guattari name Matter “the abstract machine” (Adkins, 2015); arguing that there is never “one”4 in the non-hierarchical assemblages that make up all that exists on planet Earth. Frank Herbert’s Dune interrogates this concept of the self and body, through the characters’ use of Melange. After being taken in by the Fremen of Arrakis, Lady Jessica, a Bene Gesserit sister, takes part in a “Water of Life” ceremony. Ingesting the Melange bile of a sandworm is lethal to all who are untrained in pranda/bindu (mind/body) control; only those able to successfully metabolise the powerful psychedelic will survive. Survive – and awareness is amplified to the point of unlocking the entire genetic memory. All dormant parts of the brain have awakened; total symbiosis with the spice has created a “Revered Mother”. With the spirit of her ancestors living within her, Jessica is a multispecies composite– a conscious mote, a speck of dust simultaneously human and other. She becomes super-human; bettered by her use of a naturally occurring drug. Herbert uses her transformation to show the power of a life that is interconnected and aware of its Matter: she has become an extension of the perceived self- more than just “one”. Back on Earth, “ideas of ‘the human’ diversify, self-transform and mutate as rapidly as new technologies” (Thacker, 2003). Questioning “where I end and you begin” has long been debated within scientific communities, with, until recently, individuality being understood as species diverging from one another (Darwin, 1859). Scientists tend to focus on evolution when defining such, often ignoring physiology, developmental biology, immunology, ecology, and the cognitive sciences (Gilbert, Tapp, Tauber, 2012). 4. “One” meaning bodies viewed as singular, closed units. The term “symbiosis” was coined in 1877, to describe the interspecies collaboration that is a lichen. Made up of a photosynthetic algae, a fungus, and a kind of yeast, the convergence of such symbionts upsets outdated taxonomic categorisation; like Jessica, a lichen is neither this nor that, yet still categorised as its own entity.5 Binary taxonomical categories now seem to be much messier than we once thought. As humans, we have been taught to view existence in this binary manner, and to be fearful of “foreign bodies” entering our own. Drew Milne’s “Lichen Poetics” use the endosymbiont6 as a framework for queering the way we look at life; particularly through the arts- Lichen bears witness to “ecological trauma and extinction anxieties” (Milne, 2019). A few examples of Lichen media subscribing to this framework are: • Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild” – parasitic alien species the “Tlic” living alongside and impregnating Terran humans as hosts for their young. • Andrzej Zuławski’s “On the Silver Globe”- famously unfinished science fiction epic, exploring ideas of transcendence of the human form, featuring telepathic birdmen who have mated with human females, creating “Sherns”. Both works examine the fragility of the human and the terror associated with the loss of our autonomy in imagined futures. Symbiosis is a process to be feared, with mutation leading to the destruction of the self and the downfall of our species. In contrast, Jessica’s unlocking of her genetic memory by symbiotically fusing with Melange enhances the human. Could our acknowledgement that we are more than ourselves lead to transcendence from the current binaries we subscribe to? Whilst the effects of the current pandemic seem overwhelmingly negative, maybe the understanding of our permeability due to a virus commandeering our cells may enhance man in alternative ways: Our bodies may weaken, but re-envisioning what makes a “human” could strengthen us in ways we never expected.

Load more